Condiment-holder.



Patented Sept. 15, 1914.

awuemtoz EDWARD F. FLRNRgfiN 7HE NORRIS PETERS 60.. PHOTU-LITHOU WASHINGTON. D c.

UNrrnD s'rn'rns PATENT OFFICE.

EDWARD F. FLANAGAN, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

GONDIMENT-HOLDER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

"Patented Sept. 15, 191 1.

Application filed July 30, 1913. Serial No. 782,081.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, EDWARD F. FLANA- GAIN, a citizen of the United States, residing at lVashington, District of Columbia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Condiment-Holders, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to condiment holders such as are used for containing salt, pepper, and similar pulverulent material, the primary object of the invention residing in the provision of improved means for agitating the contents of the holder when the same is damp so that it will freely pass through the perforated end thereof.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a holder of .the above;

character having a perforatedend wall provided with an inclined orsloping inner face and a revoluble scrapingelement arranged in the holder for engagement with said in-j clined face, whereby the granular material which may adhere thereto will be readily' removed. a

The invention has for still another object to provide a device of the above character,

tion, reference is to be had to the following description and accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of a condiment holder embodying the present invention. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section thereof. Fig. 3 is a section taken on the line 33 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a detail perspective view of the agitator removed. 1

Referring in detail to the drawing, .1

designates the body of the holder which may be constructed ofmetal, glass, china, or other suitable material, and is'fpreferably of longitudinally tapering cylindrical form, the diameter of the holder gradually increasing from its upper to its lower end. The lower end of the holder body 5 is exteriorly threaded, asindicated at 6, toreceive the threaded extension 7 of a metal sleeve 8. This sleeve is flanged at its opposite end, as at 9, and suitably secured to the end andouter, face of the bottom section 10 of the holder. This bottom section is constructed of the same material as the body 5.

A paraffin disk 11 is arranged between the bottom section 10 and the opposed end of the body 5 and provides an air and watertight closure for saidbody section. This disk is provided with a central opening'12 for a purpose which will be later explained.

At the other or upper end of the holder 5, thesame is closed by the integral end wall 13 which is perforated, as at 14; The bottom face of this perforated top of the body 5 is beveled or inclined, as indicatedat 15 from its center. to its outer edge.

16 designates the stem or rod of an agitator which is centrally disposed withinthe holder and has its upper end engaged in a central opening 17 provided in the top wall 13. The lower end of this stem is adapted to extend through the opening 12 in the paraflin disk 11 and is provided with a squared portion 18 and a threaded terminal Upon. the squared portion 18 of the stem a wing nut 20 is adapted to be fitted and is securely held thereon by meansof the nut 21 engaged upon the threaded extremity 19 of said stem. Adjacent the upper end of the rod or stem 16, the same is provided with the oppositely extending blades 22. These blades extend upwardly at a slight inclination from their inner .to their outer endsand said outer ends of the-blades are connected to the stem 16 inwardly from the inner ends of the blades. by means of the wires 23. Additional wires 24 are fixed to the stem 16 and connected at their opposite ends to the respective wires 23. The upper edges of the blades 22 are in scraping contact with the inclined bottom face 15 of the P It will thus be apparent that when the stem or rod 16 is rotated, said blades -Will breaking up the lumps of salt, or other material, so that the same will freely flow through'the apertures let in the end of the holder. In the preferred embodiment of my invention, I preferably employ four of the scraping blades 22 which extend radially from the stem 16, but it will of course be obvious that a greater or less number of these blades may be used if desired. This statement will also apply with equal force to the additional wires 25 carried by said stem.

Adjacent the lower end of the rod or stem 16 of the agitator the same isprovided with an annular shoulder 26 which is of greater diameter than the opening 12 of the parafiin disk 11 and securely closed at said opening when the bottom section 10 of the holder is connected to the lower end of the body 5 thereof. Thus the escape of the material through this opening is pre vented and the entrance of moisture into the interior of the holder is also obviated.

From the foregoing, it is thought that the construction and purpose of my invention will be clearly and fully understood. In assembling the several parts, the upper end of the stem or rod 16 is engaged in the central opening 17 in the perforated end wall 13 of the holder, the scraping blades 22 being engaged with the inner sloping face 15 of said end wall. The end section is then placed in position, the sleeve 7 being threaded upon the lower end of the holder body 5 while-the stem 16 is disposed through the opening" 1 2 of the paraflin disk 11. When the end of the section 1.0 is tightly engaged against the end of the body 5, the shoulder 26 on the agitator rod will also be in close frictional contact with the upper surface of the paraffin disk 11. This friction, however, is not sufficient to prevent manual rotation of the agitator. It will be seen that the hollow lower section 10 of the holder is of suflicient depth to entirely i nclose the lower end of the stem or rod 16 which projects through the openingvin the disk 11. When it is desired to agitate the contents of the holder, the operator Simply turns the rod 16 by meansof the wing nut 20, thusf'scrapingthe adhering particles from the bottom face of the top 18, as above explained, and breaking up the lumps of salt or other material by means of the wires 23 and '24 and 25.

When a free and unrestricted flow of the salt or other material through the perforations 14 is desired, the same may be obtained by simply turning the sleeve 8 upon the lower end of the holder body to move the stem 16 longitudinally and disengage the scraping blades 22 from the inner face of the perforated wall 13. This adjustment may be very easily and quickly made and an independent adjustment of the stem or its temporary removal from the holder is unnecessary. It will further be appreciated that by connecting the outer ends of the blades 22 to the stem by means of thewires 23 and providing the bracing wires 24 between said wires 23 and the stem, an effective brace for the scraping blades is produced so that when the agitator is removed from the holder in order to clean the latter,

danger of distortion or injury to the blades 22 is greatly minimized.

A condiment holder comprising the above described features ishighly eflicient and serviceable in practical use, and assuresa free flow of the salt or other condiment under all conditions, and, owing to its simplicity, may be produced at small manufacturing cost. The several parts may be easily and quickly disassembled so that the interior of the holder may be thoroughly cleaned.

\Vhile I have shown and described the preferred construction and arrangement of the several elements employed, it will be obvious that my invention is susceptible of considerable modification without departing from its essential features or sacrificing any of the advantages thereof.

lVhat I claim, is:

-1. The combination with a condiment holder having a perforated end wall, of an agitator rotatably mounted in said holder and including a central stem, a plurality of blades radiating fromthe stemand having scraping engagement with said perforated end wall, and curved wires connecting the outer extremities of said blades to the stem, said wires servingto brace the blades and also operating to break up the condiment into a comminuted state.

2. The combination with a condiment holder having a perforated end wall, of an agitator including a central stem rotatably mounted at one of its ends in said perforated end wall, a plurality of radiating blades fixed at their inner ends to the stem and having scraping engagement with the perforated wall of the holder, wires connecting the outer extremities of said blades to the stern,- additional :radially'disposed wires-connamed wires, all of said wires operating to divide the condiment into a comminuted state when the agitator is rotated. 10 In testimony whereof I hereunto afiix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

EDWARD F. FLANAGAN. Witnesses:

M. C. LYDDANE, CHAS. M. BIRCKHEAD.

necting the latter wires to the stem, said Wires bracing the blades and preventing their distortion by contact with the end wall of the holder in the longitudinal movement of the agitator stem with respect thereto, and an additional series of bowed wires secured to the stem inwardly of said first- Gopies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of I'atents,

Washington. I). G. 

